Time Management

While back I was reading about an expert on subject of time management. 
One day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to 
drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never 
forget. As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered 
overachievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz."
     
Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a 
table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks 
and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was 
filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this 
jar full?"
     
Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really?" He reached 
under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some 
gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves 
down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he asked the group 
once 
more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time the class was onto him. "Probably not," one of them 
answered. "Good!" he replied.
     
He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started 
dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the 
rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"
     
"No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good!" Then he grabbed a 
pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the 
jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, 
"What is the point of this illustration?"
     
One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how 
full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some 
more things into it!"
     
"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this 
illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, 
you'll never get them in at all." What are the 'big rocks' in your life? 
A project that YOU want to accomplish? Time with your loved ones? Your 
faith, your education, your finances? A cause? Teaching or mentoring 
others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or You'll never get them 
in at all.
     
So, tonight or in the morning when you are reflecting on this short 
story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life or 
business? Then, put those in your jar first.